Hear You Me
by viper209n
Summary: How would they get through this? Could they get through this? Josh was afraid of the answers.


**A/N : **_The title __**'Hear You Me'**__ comes from the Jimmy Eat World song of the same name. It is really the theme song to this whole story. Download it or at least, look it up on YouTube._

**Disclaimer : **_This is a work of fiction. It is not real. It is made up. These events did not happen. It is likely they will never happen._

_What hurts the most  
Was being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away  
And never knowing  
What could have been  
And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was tryin' to do_

_-- _'What Hurts the Most' by Rascal Flatts

Adam couldn't speak. Could barely breathe. He could not believe it. He looked around the room to see if perhaps he heard wrong. Looking around, Adam saw the faces of his coworkers' mirrored his own. Then, his eyes fell on the empty seat.

Peter's day had started simply. He woke up and jumped into the shower as usual. As part of his morning ritual, he turned the news on as he dressed. Occasionally stories would catch his attention and he would watch. However, today everything being reported was going in one ear and out the other.

A few reports stuck. The terror alert was lowered. A man in a wheelchair had become caught in the grill of an 18-wheeler and was driven down the road at fifty miles per hour. An airplane crashed.

He caught the latter as he was turning the television off.

_'And late last night, a plane headed for Los Angeles crashed into a remote area. Offficials are blaming it on a 'botched inspection' which took place at the take-off terminal.'_ The broadcaster's voice turned somber. _'There were... no survivors.'_ His voice returned to a professional news anchor tone. _'Among the passengers...'_

Peter clicked the television off and shook his head slowly, feeling sorrowful for those who had lost their lives. He left the room and headed toward the kitchen. He should have listened to the rest of the news report.

Just like normal, his daughter was sitting at the kitchen counter eating breakfast.

"Good morning, Daughter." Peter greeted her as he poured his coffee.

"Good morning, Dad." She noticed his plate. "Sandy Cohen Special, I see."

Peter looked down at the bagel he had grabbed. "Guess so."

She looked up, eyeing her father. "Dad?"

"Huh?" Peter spoke as he schmeared.

"You okay?"

He looked up suddenly. "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"You just seem... a little... preoccupied lately. I guess."

"Just busy." He said as he finished making his breakfast. While heading for the door, he passed her and kissed the top of her head. "Thanks for the concern, though, baby girl."

"No problem. Have a nice day!" She yelled to him as he walked out the door.

Peter was greeted by Benjamin McKenzie as he walked into work.

"We have a meeting this morning." By 'we', Peter knew that Ben meant the cast.

"Do we know what it is about?"

"No. But it sounds urgent. If you see anyone, cast, crew, Josh, Stephanie, the first thing they say is that we are having a meeting."

"Hmm." Peter thought for a moment. "I bet they are killing Ryan." It was a recurring joke around the set. It was fun to insinuate that the powers that be were going to kill whatever character the person nearest to you played.

Ben laughed. "Nah. I bet it is going to be Sandy. He is getting kind of old."

"Ouch. You went a little far. Insulting my age was unnecessary." They chuckled as they entered the meeting room. Peter and Ben were the last two of the regular cast to enter the room; they walked to the chairs that they always sat in.

Kelly had not arrived yet because the seat to Peter's left was empty. To his right sat Melinda. Peter noticed she looked a little pale. She was sitting silently, staring at the table in front of them.

"Melinda, are you okay?" He asked, softly, bowing his head and trying to look into her eyes. She looked up at him and he could see something odd in her eyes, something he had never seen before. "Are you coming down with something?"

Before she could answer him, Josh Schwartz entered the room and shut the door behind him. To shut the door was to tell everyone else to stay out. It was a little odd that Josh would close the door because usually Stephanie or other executives would be right behind him. Rarely, if ever, was it just Josh. All eyes were on him. When he finally spoke his eyes were stuck to the table.

"I want to thank you all for being here on time today." His voice was different, hoarse. Peter figured he had lost his voice wherever he had been this weekend.

"Josh, Kelly's not here." Peter interrupted, looking down at the empty chair to his left. "She'll probably be here in like five minutes. Maybe less." Josh was giving Peter a look that he had never seen before but it made him feel uncomfortable.

"She might be in her trailer. Maybe no one told her about the meeting." Ben offered. Josh was making him nervous as well.

"That's probably it. I'll go check." Peter said, moving his chair and standing to leave. Melinda's hand suddenly gripped Peter's arm and her hold kept him in his chair. Peter's inquisitive eyes searched Melinda's, questioning her actions. She seemed to be trying to tell him something that he could not quite read.

Rachel Bilson noticed this exchange, Melinda's and Josh's demeanor. "What's going on?" She asked, her voice quivering.

"As you all are aware," Josh continued, all eyes once again on him. "Kelly has been working on a project outside of the show. She's been very busy traveling back and forth daily to complete work on both."

Peter felt himself become calmer. Kelly was exhausted with her travels and probably had to be hospitalized. He was always telling her that she needed to do less and eat more. She never listened, always so excited to take on more projects and strict to stay on her diet. She had worked herself into exhaustion and needed a professional to tell her what Peter had been telling her all along but she would be fine. She would miss a few days of work, beat herself up, but she would be back. Heck, because of her Peter might even get a few days off since most of his scenes involved Kelly.

Josh paused, preparing himself. "She was flying back last night and there was a snow storm." This is when Peter noticed Josh's sniffle and Melinda's tissue wadded up in her fist. His heart immediately stopped. "The plane she was in went down and was destroyed. There were…" Josh stopped, cleared his tightening throat. "There were no survivors."

The news cast from just an hour ago flashed into Peter's mind.

' _plane… crashed' _

_'botched inspection'_

'_... no survivors.'_

_'Among the passengers…'_

'_Among the passengers was 'The O.C.' star, Kelly Rowan,' _is what he would have heard if he had left the television playing.

"No." Peter whispered, breaking everyone out of their shock. He looked up at Josh and shook his head. "No, this is wrong. You are wrong. They are wrong! It can't be true!" His eyes dropped back down to the table and scanned over it, searching for an answer.

"I know what this is." He suddenly declared, eyes set on Josh. "April Fools. You're six days late but I'll give it to you. You got me." Peter stood from his chair and began walking toward the door. "Where is she hiding?" He swung open the door and looked outside, searching for the blonde.

"Kelly! You got us!" He called out and received no response. Not even from crew member or make-up personal. No one was out there. It was like a dead zone. Peter flinched away from that word, _dead_, as soon as he thought it.

Peter turned back to the room of his fellow cast members. Melinda had joined him by the door. Rachel's face was covered in her hands and resting on the table. Adam had turned his body away from everyone, shutting them out. Ben's head was turned toward Peter and his eyes were full of sorrow.

"Who am I kidding?" Peter started again suddenly. "No way would she be in on this." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the familiar number.

With the phone pressed against his ear, he whispered. "She's just late." Peter did not breathe as he listened to the phone ring.

Suddenly, he heard a 'Hi!' His heart started again and he breathed out a sigh and his own 'Hey!'

'This is Kelly Rowan. I can't get to my phone right now. '

Peter's heart fell as he listened to the recording. He had never heard what her outgoing message sounded like because the phone never rang that long. Kelly never missed a call. She always picked up.

'But if you'll leave your name, number, and a message, I'll call you back.'

Peter swallowed thickly. "Hi, hey, Kelly." He stammered and then paused to clear his throat. "You'll never believe the joke Josh is trying to pull." Peter's hand and voice began to shake. "You were right. He is a sick bastard. I'm sure Ben and Adam are in on it too."

Adam finally picked up his head and turned toward Peter. The older man could see the tear stains and the blood shot eyes. Ben's face also showed signs of grief and shock. Melinda moved toward Peter and pulled the cell phone from him, shutting the device.

Peter walked backwards until he hit the wall. His breathing sounded like hiccups and his tear ducts started making up for lost time. His eyes filled with salty water as he slid down to sit on the floor. He stared straight ahead finally accepting the information.

Dead. She was dead. His heart ached. It ached like it had never ached before.

His heart hurt when he heard his mother had Alzheimer's. It hurt when she died. I hurt when his father died. But right now, it ached.

It ached to be near to Kelly. It ached holding all of his unspoken feelings. It ached because it no longer had the chance to tell her he loved her.

Suddenly, Melinda sat down next to Peter on the floor. She was studying Peter intently, waiting for his reaction.

"Not her," he whimpered. "Kelly." Tears streamed down his cheeks. The next thing Peter knew his face was buried in Melinda's neck, wetting her t-shirt with his tears. She held him as he shook with the force of the sobs.

"I didn't tell her." He sobbed. "I didn't tell her."

"I know." Melinda soothed him as she held him tight against her. "It's going to be okay."

"How?" He whimpered. "How can it be okay without her?"

"I don't know." Melinda admitted after she thought about it for a moment. "I really don't know."

Josh slid out of the room as Peter finally crumble. After a stop in the restroom to vomit, he returned to his office to shed his own tears and think about what would happen next.

How would they get over this? _Could_ they get over this? Could Peter?

Josh was afraid of the answers.

**To Be Continued...**


End file.
